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"Schuster, K."
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Myopia is associated with education: Results from NHANES 1999-2008
Myopia is increasing worldwide and possibly linked to education. In this study, we analyse the association of myopia and education in the U.S. and investigate its age-dependency.
We conducted a secondary data analysis using the public use files from the cross-sectional study National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of the period from 1999 to 2008. 19,756 participants aged 20 to 85 years were included with data on education and ophthalmic parameters (distance visual acuity, objective refraction and keratometry). Spherical equivalent, astigmatism, corneal power and corneal astigmatism were evaluated for an association with education using linear regression analysis with adjustment of potential confounders.
Analysis revealed an association between spherical equivalent and educational level in the univariate analysis (P < .001), and in the adjusted model (P < .001). Subjects who attend school to less than 9th grade had a mean spherical equivalent of 0.34 D, subjects with 9-11th grade -0.14 D, subjects that finished high school -0.33 D, subjects with partial college education -0.70 D, subjects that graduated from college or a higher formal education -1.22 D. Subjects that graduated from college or above were -1.47 D more myopic compared to subjects that completed less than 9th grade school in the adjusted analyses. Astigmatism and corneal curvature was not associated with education.
Myopia is associated with higher education in the U.S. Our analysis shows that corneal curvature does not contribute to this association, therefore axial elongation or lens power are likely to contribute to myopia.
Journal Article
On the life cycle of Brachymeria podagrica (Fabricius, 1787) (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) – a parasitoid of sacrophagid, calliphorid, and muscid flies
The lifecycle of
Brachymeria podagrica
, a parasitic wasp with a worldwide distribution, was studied under laboratory conditions using the flesh fly,
Sarcophaga dux
, as a host. Two hundred parasite-free 3rd instars of
S. dux
were exposed for 24 h to 20 female
B. podagrica
. In daily intervals, maggots and later pupae were examined for developmental stages of the parasitoid. The whole pre-imaginal development at a temperature of 26 °C lasted 21 to 26 days. Three morphologically different instars, followed by a prepupal and a pupal stage, were described using light and scanning electron microscopy. In a second experiment with 100 3rd stage
Sarcophaga
larvae and 10 parasitoids, a total of 70 wasps emerged 20 to 25 days after exposure. Two fly larvae did not pupate and dried out, while 28 pupae contained a dry or caseous content, dead wasp imagos, or their larval stages. No fly imagines emerged from exposed groups, while all 100 unexposed larvae pupated and adults eclosed between day 12 and day 14 after the start of the experiment, while the imagoes of the parasitoids appeared 8 to 12 days later.
Journal Article
Helminths of Cats (Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758) and Their Larval Stages in Reptiles in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
An examination of 360 feral cats originating from three major habitats in the Dubai Emirate between 2002 and 2024 revealed the presence of 14 helminths, as follows: Joyeuxiella pasqualei, Joyeuxiella gervaisi, Diplopylidium nölleri, Diplopylidium acanthotetra, Hydatigera taeniaeformis, Taenia hydatigena, Ancylostoma braziliense, Ancylostoma ceylanicum, Ollulanus tricuspis, Toxocara cati, Toxascaris leonina, Pterygodermatites cahirensis, Centrorhynchus aluconis and Macracanthorhynchus catulinus. During the same period, a total of 66 snakes (eight species) and 68 lizards (four species) from different locations in the Dubai Emirate were examined for parasites. The larval stages of the cestode genera Joyeuxiella and Diplopylidium, as well as cystacanths of Centrorhynchus sp. and Macracanthorhynchus sp. and the larval stages of two nematodes were detected. All of the snake species except sand boas, as well as two gecko species, harbored the larval stages of cestodes of the Dipylidiidae family. The high prevalence of Joyeuxiella and Diplopylidium in the cats that originated from the city center of Dubai, where the presence of reptiles can be excluded, suggests that certain arthropods might be involved in the life cycle of these cestodes as first intermediate hosts and that reptiles are paratenic hosts.
Journal Article
Observation of a mixed close-packed structure in superionic water
The study of superionic (SI) water has been a highly active research area since its theoretical prediction. Despite significant experimental and computational efforts, its melting curve and the stability of different oxygen lattices remain debated, impacting our understanding of SI ice’s peculiar transport properties. Experimental results at lower pressures show disagreement, whereas data at higher pressures are scarce due to the extreme challenges of such experiments. In this work, we present ultrafast X-ray diffraction results of water compressed by multiple shocks to pressures up to ~ 180 GPa. At pressures exceeding 150 GPa and temperatures around 2500 K, our diffraction patterns challenge the pure FCC-SI phase model, providing experimental evidence of the mixed close-packed superionic phase predicted by advanced ab initio calculations. At lower pressures, we observe simultaneous signatures of BCC and FCC structures within a pressure-temperature range consistent with some static-compression experiments, helping to resolve contradictory results in literature. These insights offer new constraints on the stability domains of SI phases and reveal detailed structural features, such as stacking faults. Our results advance the structural understanding of high-pressure SI ice to a level approaching that of ice I polymorphs, with potential implications for water-rich interiors of giant planets.
X-ray study of compressed water shows that superionic ice adopts mixed close-packed structures rather than a single phase - a far more complex behaviour than expected, mirroring solid ice’s rich phases and informing planetary interior models.
Journal Article
Systematic review: non-adherence and non-persistence in intravitreal treatment
PurposeIntravitreal injection of VEGF inhibitors has become the standard of care for different macular diseases within the last years resulting in improved visual outcomes. Under real-life conditions, however, the necessity for frequent retreatments and reexaminations poses a burden for patients and treatment centers. Non-adherence and non-persistence to intravitreal treatment may lead to inferior clinical outcomes, and knowledge of contributing factors is crucial to improve adherence. This systematic review analyzes current literature for potential factors involved in non-adherence and non-persistence.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in PubMed and Embase including three different aspects of intravitreal injection therapy: (1) diseases with intravitreal injections as treatment, (2) intravitreal injection, and (3) aspects of therapy adherence or therapy persistence. Data from identified quantitative studies were further extracted and grouped according to WHO criteria (condition, socio-economy, therapy, patient, and health system). The methodological quality of identified studies was graded. Identified qualitative studies (i.e., interviews) were descriptively analyzed and their findings narratively reported.ResultsTwenty-four publications were included. In 16 of those publications, a quantitative data analysis was conducted, analyzing factors associated with non-adherence. Worse visual acuity at baseline and unfavorable development of visual acuity, higher age, and greater distance to the treatment center were associated with non-adherence, while there was inconsistent evidence for an association of comorbidity. In qualitative studies, high follow-up/treatment burden, fear and anxiety, disappointed patient expectations, and lack of motivation to continue treatment were reported as reasons for non-persistence.ConclusionsKnowledge of potential barriers in IVT treatment may improve adherence and potentially clinical results. Improvements can be achieved particularly in the healthcare complex (organizational improvements) and the “patient” complex by establishing realistic expectations. Recurrent education of the patient may be necessary.
Journal Article
Gendered analysis of care work burden and mental health using data from the Gutenberg Covid-19 study
In light of the growing awareness of the unequal distribution of care work, this study aimed to analyze gender differences in burdens of care work and associations with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on employment status. Therefore, data from the population-representative Gutenberg COVID-19 cohort, collected between October 2020 and April 2021, in the city of Mainz and the County of Mainz-Bingen, Germany, were used. Out of the whole cohort, people living with children in the household were included (
N
= 2,043). Feeling burdened by care work and mental health outcomes were assessed by validated self-report questionnaires. Descriptive analyses and multilinear regression analyses were performed. Results showed that feeling burdened by care work was more likely for women than for men. For men, feeling burdened by care work was significantly associated with depressiveness, anxiety, and somatization. For women, difficulties with child raising were associated with depressiveness. Part-time working men and women did not differ with respect to mental health or care work burden, whereas unemployed and full-time working women showed significantly worse mental health and reported more burden of care than unemployed and full-time working men. Hence, this study showed gender inequalities. For women, worsening external conditions for childcare appeared to be a risk factor. Men with care work responsibilities seem to benefit, concerning their mental health, from full-time paid work. The data underscore the importance of mitigating the burden of care work, especially to improve conditions for women and part-time workers.
Journal Article
Formation of diamonds in laser-compressed hydrocarbons at planetary interior conditions
The effects of hydrocarbon reactions and diamond precipitation on the internal structure and evolution of icy giant planets such as Neptune and Uranus have been discussed for more than three decades
1
. Inside these celestial bodies, simple hydrocarbons such as methane, which are highly abundant in the atmospheres
2
, are believed to undergo structural transitions
3
,
4
that release hydrogen from deeper layers and may lead to compact stratified cores
5
–
7
. Indeed, from the surface towards the core, the isentropes of Uranus and Neptune intersect a temperature–pressure regime in which methane first transforms into a mixture of hydrocarbon polymers
8
, whereas, in deeper layers, a phase separation into diamond and hydrogen may be possible. Here we show experimental evidence for this phase separation process obtained by in situ X-ray diffraction from polystyrene (C
8
H
8
)
n
samples dynamically compressed to conditions around 150 GPa and 5,000 K; these conditions resemble the environment around 10,000 km below the surfaces of Neptune and Uranus
9
. Our findings demonstrate the necessity of high pressures for initiating carbon–hydrogen separation
3
and imply that diamond precipitation may require pressures about ten times as high as previously indicated by static compression experiments
4
,
8
,
10
. Our results will inform mass–radius relationships of carbon-bearing exoplanets
11
, provide constraints for their internal layer structure and improve evolutionary models of Uranus and Neptune, in which carbon–hydrogen separation could influence the convective heat transport
7
.
Diamonds precipitate from methane under the intense pressures of the atmospheres of Neptune and Uranus. Here, a laser shock experiment on a hydrocarbon sample shows that diamonds may require ten times as much pressure to precipitate as was previously thought.
Journal Article
Association of birth weight with corneal power in early adolescence: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999–2008
To analyze the effect of birth weight on ocular morphology, refraction and visual function in early adolescents aged 12-15 years.
We conducted a secondary data analysis using the public use files from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of the period from 1999 to 2008. Study participants aged 12 to 15 years were included with data on birth weight and ophthalmic parameters including presenting distance visual acuity, objective refraction and keratometry. Visual acuity, sphere, astigmatism in power vectors J0 and J45, corneal power and corneal astigmatism were evaluated for an association with birth weight. Linear and logistic regression with adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, survey cycle and birth weight as independent variable were calculated.
Linear regression analysis revealed an association between corneal power and birth weight (per 100g: beta = -0.04, p<0.001) in the univariate analysis, and in the model adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity and NHANES survey cycle (per 100g: beta = -0.04, p<0.001). A lower birth weight was associated with higher corneal power. We found no evidence for an association of visual acuity, sphere, spherical equivalent, J0-vector and J45-vector of astigmatism, corneal J0- or corneal J45-vector with birth weight.
Our data demonstrate that low BW is linked to alterations in keratometric power even in early adolescents aged 12-15 years whereas visual acuity and refractive error showed no association.
Journal Article
Prevalence of myopic maculopathy in the German population: results from the Gutenberg health study
AimsTo determine the prevalence of myopic maculopathy in the general population in Germany and to analyse potential associations with ocular and systemic factors.DesignThe Gutenberg Health Study is a population-based study, including 15 010 participants aged 35–74 years.MethodsMyopic maculopathy was graded in phakic eyes with spherical equivalent ≤−6 D by assessing fundus photographs according to a recent international photographic classification system (META-PM). 801 eyes of 519 participants (mean age 51.0±0.77 years) met the conditions and had gradable fundus photographs. Age-specific prevalence estimates were computed. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess associated factors with myopic maculopathy.ResultsMyopic maculopathy was present in 10.3% (95% CI 7.9 to 13.3) study participants. The prevalence was 8.6% (95% CI 6.1% to 11.9%) in the 397 right eyes and 8.7% (95% CI 6.2% to 12.0%) in the 404 left eyes. The most common type of pathology was diffuse atrophy (8.1%), followed by patchy atrophy (1.3%) and macular atrophy (0.5%); plus lesions were present in 3% (right eyes). Age (OR 1.07 per year, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.11, p<0.001), higher myopic refractive error (p<0.001), and male gender (p=0.02) were associated with myopic maculopathy, while cardiovascular risk factors and socioeconomic factors were not.ConclusionsThe prevalence of myopic maculopathy in the German population was 0.5%, and 10% in high myopic participants, aged 35–74 years. These population-based data are the first in Europe. Myopic maculopathy was related to severity of myopic refractive error and age.
Journal Article